An athlete's vertical leaping ability is one of the most important indications of overall athletic ability. This attribute is closely evaluated in many of today's major sports. For example, the National Football League and the National Basketball Association each hold pre-draft combines for future prospects in which the prospect's vertical leaping ability is tested. Recognizing the importance of the vertical leap, athletes now train diligently to improve their leaping ability. Accordingly, devices that accurately measure an athlete's vertical leap are in demand.
Prior art jump trainers have failed to feature a device that is safe to use, compact, and readily portable. Many of the prior art jump trainers do not provide adequate safety features to minimize the risk of an athlete being injured while measuring their vertical leap. One common problem with early jump trainers was that they were prone to tip over and cause injury to the athlete or coach. This problem was addressed in Applicant's U.S. Pat. No. 7,097,589 (the '589 patent) by providing a wall-mounted jump training apparatus having several safety features.
Yet another drawback associated with conventional jump trainers is that they occupy a great deal of floor space and are not easily stored. In many cases the jump trainer will be stored near the vicinity it is typically used. Such jump trainers can be a substantial hazard to a player chasing a ball out of bounds. Again, this problem was addressed in Applicant's '589 patent, as well as other wall-mounted jump training devices.
Still another problem associated with modern jump training devices is that they are typically designed to remain in one general area, for example, a gymnasium or similar athletic facility. Many of the jump training devices utilize parts that are very long and not easily transportable. Of course, all wall mounted jump training devices are typically designed to be non-portable.
A compact, portable jump training device would provide a team or individual athlete with the ability to transport the device to any athletic facility where they wanted to test, or work on, their leaping ability. Moreover, it is highly unlikely that every athletic facility has a jump training device. By providing a compact, portable jump training device a team or individual athlete would not have to depend on a particular facility having a jump training device.
Accordingly, the art has a need for a jump training apparatus that is safe, easy to use, compact, and readily portable to any number of venues where a jump training apparatus might be utilized.